There is something about the idea of madness in Moby-Dick that I find strangely alluring. I feel that in modern day America one would be hard-pressed to find someone who would think that any kind of "madness" or "insanity" could in any way be considered a good thing, which is why it is so refreshing to look at the idea of madness in a different light. It isn't dismissed so lightly, without even looking at the different forms madness can take. People always assume that if someone is "insane" they aren't capable of rational thought, and therefore cannot even recognize their "insanity". However, in Moby-Dick characters that are mad or insane, either labeled as such or self-identified, are able to recognize and even accept their madness. Ishmael seems to see a kind of madness within himself that he tries to combat by going to the sea. Pip's madness is seemingly different from Ishmael's, and instead of fighting it he accepts it. His madness "elevates" him and grants him indifference and "God-like freedom". I think Ahab's madness is the most interesting by far. He not only willing accepts and embraces it, he appears to believe there is nothing wrong with it and that other people should be mad as well. When Ahab talks to Perth in chapter 113, he tells Perth that he should be mad, and is confused as to how he gets by without being mad. People always seem to pity people who are seen as "insane", so I thought it was pretty funny the way Ahab almost seems to pity those who are not insane. Ahab must be somewhat sane in order to recognize his insanity, but then how can he be truly insane? We need to take a closer look at what we consider to be insanity, and I think Moby-Dick helps us to do just that.
It is certainly true that in modern-day America, any sort of mental abnormality is generally viewed in a negative light. Moby-Dick does offer a different perspective on what most people would indeed consider genuine madness; it also raises questions about the possibility that mental abnormality is not necessarily a bad thing. If such extremely different viewpoints on life as Ahab's and Pip's have some validity, then what of viewpoints which are closer to, although not entirely in sync with, what is 'normal?'
ReplyDeleteCertain types of mindset which are currently classified as disorders are indisputably useful in some settings - examples of this can be found in many autism-spectrum disorders, particularly those which cause people to develop extremely impressive capacities in other areas - in other words, those which result in savants. Perhaps, rather than classifying these conditions as disorders, it would be better to simply consider them different, but equally valid, ways of viewing the world.
P.S. I also posted this on my blog if you'd rather read it there.
I did read your blog and I agree with you 100%. Thank you for commenting!
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